I think that this is perhaps one of the most asked questions in poker or if people are not asking this specific question then they are asking questions that are related to it. I have made some controversial statements about bankroll management in the past and received stick for it. But this in my mind underlines how people have misunderstood what I have said.
There really is no one glove fits all answer. Much depends on your overall risk profile, your own individual skill and your overall objectives. These criteria are different from player to player so it is next to impossible to come out with anything specific. In my experience, you should do whatever makes you feel comfortable. But before I continue then I need to point out here that I am certainly not recommending to anyone that they throw discipline out of the window.
If you play poker without a serious money management framework in place then you will constantly be under bankrolled and variance will constantly wipe you out. But having said that, many people do not like the thought of having a set bankroll and don’t have the discipline to keep it anyway without drawing from it!
There is no point giving yourself impossible goals if you cannot keep to them. What is the point in saying, “this $5000 is for playing online poker and playing online poker only” if in two weeks time you draw out $2000 because you need it for Christmas or whatever else. Many people like to constantly put tiny amounts into play because they know that they can constantly top up their poker “bankroll” from other sources.
Some players play better in online poker if they have smaller amounts of money because they feel less inclined to blow it off whilst others play looser. Many players are backed and staked by others and many tournament players are sponsored so for them, bankroll considerations have been totally offset. But even if you have a poker sponsor who pays for all your tournament buy-ins…..the situation can be different from case to case.
Some tournament sponsored players prefer to play less aggressive because they want to get a return and generate income by making sure or trying to increase their chances of cashing. Some players try to keep their sponsors happy by going for frequent cashes rather than play in a highly aggressive way going for the win.
It is strange but many players get sponsorship after they win a big event and not before. But after they get sponsored then the dynamics change as you then have the job of trying to ascertain what will keep your sponsor happy and how long you can keep the sponsorship for. Some sponsors will be more than happy that you are promoting them but others may be more demanding.
So you can see that there are no real set in stone answers here but there are numerous guidelines which I am sure you are more than aware of. But I may just go through some of those guidelines in my next post so see you then and guess who was going to back Lee Westwood to win the Dubai World Championship and didn’t
He hasn’t won it yet but he has a six shot lead with eleven holes to play
Oh well
Carl “The Dean” Sampson at poker loco
